Jarrett, now USC career leader, catches two TDs; Trojans triumph

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Southern California Trojans have a new
starting quarterback and six new running backs.

But they look like the same old USC -- with an even better
defense than last year.

If there was any doubt, No. 4 USC declared itself a national
title contender for a fourth straight season with a 28-10 victory
over 19th-ranked Nebraska on Saturday night.

After his two-touchdown performance in USC's 28-10 win over Nebraska on Saturday, Dwayne Jarrett now has 31 career touchdowns, good for second all-time in Pac-10 history. Jarrett also passed Mike Williams for first place all-time at Southern California.

Player
School
TD
Years played

Ken Margerum

Stanford

32

4

Dwayne Jarrett*

USC

31

2+

Sean Dawkins

Cal

31

3

Mike Williams

USC

30

2

Mario Bailey

Washington

30

4

* -- Jarrett had 11 catches for 136 yards and 2 TDs on Saturday. It was his 10th career game with 100+ yards receiving.

It's also scary for the rest of the country. The Trojans' attack
isn't as potent as the one that lit up scoreboards last year. But
their once-unreliable defense appears much stouter. The Trojans
(2-0) limited Nebraska (2-1) to 211 yards, including 68 rushing
yards on 36 carries, an average of 1.9 yards per rush.

USC won for the 36th time in 37 games, the lone defeat coming to
Texas in the final seconds of last January's Rose Bowl. The Trojans
have won 28 straight at home.

Making his second career start, John David Booty was 25-for-36
for 257 with no interceptions and three touchdown passes for USC in
a Matt Leinart-esque performance.

While Nebraska failed to pull off a Trojan-sized upset Saturday night, the Huskers played well enough to prove that their 5-6 season in two years ago is truly a thing of the past. Still, with the 28-10 loss, Nebraska is now 0-7 on the road against ranked teams since 2001, and still looking for a statement win to announce its re-emergence as one of the nation's elite teams.

Date
Opponent
Result

9/16/06

No. 4 USC

L, 28-10

11/13/04

No. 2 Oklahoma

L, 30-3

11/1/03

No. 16 Texas

L, 31-7

11/16/02

No. 11 Kansas St.

L, 49-13

9/28/02

No. 19 Iowa St.

L, 36-14

9/14/02

No. 25 Penn St.*

L, 40-7

11/23/01

No. 14 Colorado

L, 62-36

* -- Ranked only in coaches' poll

All-America receiver Dwayne Jarrett, the one holdover star from
last year's record-breaking offense, caught 11 passes for 136
yards, including two touchdowns. The 6-foot-5 Jarrett often found
himself being covered by defensive backs who were four or more
inches shorter. He beat 5-foot-9 cornerback

"Jarrett is a monster," Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said.
"He physically dominated our guys. Our guys did what they could
but he is almost unstoppable."

Jarrett became USC's career touchdown receptions leader with 31,
breaking Mike Williams' record of 30.

"I knew I was close to the record, but that's not something I'm
really concerned about," Jarrett said.

Jarrett was unstoppable, but the Trojans weren't. Although they
did not turn the ball over for the second straight week, the
Trojans hurt themselves with penalties -- they had seven for 46
yards -- and mental mistakes.

"There's a lot of work left," USC offensive coordinator Lane
Kiffin said. "It's no secret we have a long way to go."

The offense produced enough to win. But the bigger story on this
day may have been the Trojans' defense, which dominated the
Cornhuskers.

"We wanted to come in here and run the ball," Callahan said.
"We felt we could."

The Trojans' decisive victory came on a day that two teams
ranked ahead of them didn't look like national title contenders.
No. 2 Notre Dame absorbed a 47-21 whipping by 11th-ranked Michigan,
and No. 3 Auburn struggled to a 7-3 victory over No. 6 LSU.

The Cornhuskers loomed as the first test for the retooled
Trojans, who lost Leinart, Reggie Bush and LenDale White from a
team that won back-to-back national titles and played for a third.

The Trojans passed the test and now begin their quest for a
fifth consecutive Pac-10 title next Saturday at Arizona and a fifth
straight BCS berth.

It was the third meeting between two of college football's
traditional powerhouses and the first since 1970. USC beat the
Huskers 31-21 at Nebraska in 1969, and the teams played to a 21-21
tie in Los Angeles the following year.

The Cornhuskers have endured a drought since their last national
title in 1995. But two easy wins over Louisiana Tech and Nicholls
State following last year's strong finish fired hopes in Lincoln.

Thousands of red-clad Huskers faithful came west to witness
Nebraska's revival. But what they saw was another convincing
example of USC's might.

"We are closing the gap with USC, but we still have a long way
to go," Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said.

"This was not a moral victory," Callahan said. "This was a
loss."

USC may have lost Leinart and friends, but it still has an
enviable depth chart, starting with Booty, a fourth-year junior
from Louisiana who played like a veteran Saturday. If Booty felt
any pressure in his first home game as the 2004 Heisman Trophy
winners replacement, he didn't show it.

Booty twice connected with Jarrett on critical completions. With
USC leading 7-3 in the second quarter and facing a third-and-21 on
the Nebraska 25, Booty avoided pressure and found Jarrett for 22
yards and a first down.

On the next play, Booty hit Steve Smith on a crossing route for
a 3-yard touchdown that put the Trojans ahead 14-3.

After Nebraska cut USC's lead to 21-10 in the fourth quarter,
USC faced a second-and-20 at Nebraska's 26. Booty hit Jarrett for
19 yards to set up tailback Chauncey Washington's 7-yard touchdown
run that made it 28-10.

"I'm really pleased, to be honest," Booty said. "It doesn't
seem like we're scoring quite as fast as the guys did last year,
but we're really kind of a scrappy group. The main thing is that
we're winning games. I think we'll only get better as the season
goes on."